Bedtime Stories
by NattiKay
Summary: [OLD/semi-outdated] Twoshot, post-manga. Inuyasha tells a bedtime story to his three-year-old son, and later, it makes him realize something. Just what is it he realizes?
1. Happily Ever After

"Otou, I wanna story!" pleaded the young boy as his father carefully set him down in his messy bed.

"Didn't I give you a story _last_ night?" the father grumped, though his expression remained good-natured, even playful.

_Three years_, he thought even as he said that. It had been three years now since Inuyasha had become 'dad', and the title was _still _a bit overwhelming for him. But he was adjusting, slowly but surely, and the love he had for his son, Michi, was undeniably strong.

"But your stories are the _best!_" exclaimed little Michi, smiling a grand and childlike smile, bouncing around a bit on short three-year-old legs, ruffling up the faded maroon blanket that laid on his bed even more.

Inuyasha sighed, succumbing to the pleading. No one could convince him to do something more easily than the toddler—except perhaps Kagome, his wife and Michi's mother.

Of course, though, said wife was actually now expecting a second child, due in just another month or two, and had been worn out by the day's activities. Thus, it was Inuyasha's duty yet again to put Michi to bed.

"Ah, alright, kiddo," the hanyou agreed, ruffling the boy's short, black hair in between his pointed little puppy ears. The child laughed and stared up at his father with joyful indigo eyes—perhaps something of what Inuyasha's would look like were he to actually be happy on some new moon night.

"Thanks, Otou!" Michi gasped. "I'll go right to sleep after, I promise!"

"Keh, you'd better," Inuyasha scoffed lightly, though he couldn't help a quiet chuckle as he scooped the squealing boy off his feet and laid him down in bed, tucking him comfortably under the cozy maroon blanket, the color a startling contrast to the boy's pale green pajamas.

"I will, really!" the child promised again, snuggling right up in his blanket and pillows.

"Alright, alright," chided the hanyou, lying down on his side next to the child's low-lying futon, legs sprawled out, propping his head up on one elbow. "Now, which story do you want?"

Michi thought about it, making a big show of saying "hmmm" quite loudly while tapping his pursed lips, trying to restrain a smile, with a finger. At last his eyes lit up as he finally came to a conclusion.

"I know!" he gasped. "Tell me the adventure story! The one about the hanyou and the miko and the evil monkey!"

Inuyasha blinked in surprise.

"That one? Are you sure?"

"Yes!" agreed Michi happily. "That one's my favorite!"

"But it's so _long,_" Inuyasha rebutted. "Why don't you just pick part of it?"

"Oh," murmured Michi, "Ok. Um…oh, I know! You can start with the beginning today, and then tomorrow, you can tell more! And keep going 'till it's done!" the child decided.

Inuyasha sighed. Good enough.

"Ok. Now lay down," he instructed firmly, though a twinge of gentleness remained in his tone. Michi obeyed quietly, though an excited grin still stretched across his face as his head rested with a slight _wffk_ upon contacting the bean-and-buckwheat-filled pillow. He owned a softer, quieter pillow, as well; a "relic" from his mother's era, though as its consistency could be compared to stuffed animals, the little boy seemed to prefer cuddling it to sleeping on it.

"Once upon a time," Inuyasha began lowly, smiling at the excited expression of his son, "there was a hanyou. This hanyou had done a lot of strange things in the eyes of the villagers, but then that began to change when he met a miko who guarded the Sacred Jewel."

"But that miko wasn't the one he went on an adventure with," Michi added rather matter-of-factly.

"That's right, she wasn't," Inuyasha agreed. "She was a different one altogether. But still, the lonely hanyou, wanting someone who he could be friends with, began to fall in love with the Jewel miko. Then, one day, an evil monkey began making plans. He devised a plot to make the hanyou and the Jewel miko hate each other so that _he _could take the Jewel and make his wish. And, unfortunately, the Jewel miko and the hanyou fell right into his trap! The Jewel miko fought with the hanyou and eventually pinned him to the tree. Shortly after, she died a catastrophic death."

"But the hanyou was still alive!" squealed the boy.

"Yes, he was. But he was also sealed, pinned to that tree for fifty entire years!"

"Whoa! That's a long time, isn't it, Otou?"

"A _very_ long time. But at the end of those fifty long years, a new miko traveled through a well and released the hanyou. He was mad at first because this new miko looked so much like the Jewel miko who had pinned him long ago. But then he began to realize that she was actually a very different person, and they became friends."

Inuyasha continued the story for a while yet, reaching all the way up to when this "miko" and "hanyou", along with a befriended kitsune, had met up with a mischievous monk. Michi's comments and interrupters became less and less frequent as tire overtook the toddler, slowly nodding off into a soft slumber.

Inuyasha at last noticed the child's gentle, even breathing; the peaceful, contented look on his sleeping face. _Finally,_ he thought, leaning over to kiss his son lightly on the forehead—a somewhat uncharacteristic gesture reserved strictly to family members.

Of course, that only made its occurrences all the sweeter.

"Good night, Michi," he murmured quietly, voice scarcely above a whisper. "Have good dreams."

_And this story's far from over. _

"That was quite the story there," came a remark from behind him. Inuyasha turned to see Kagome standing in the threshold to Michi's little room, leaning against the doorway for slight support. She was dressed only in her inner shirt and a pair of loosely-tied hakama—no doubt ready to go to sleep, herself.

Inuyasha smiled and stood, walking over to her. He stood close to his beloved wife, resting a gentle, if clawed, hand over the miko's swollen stomach. Kagome smiled sweetly, covering his large hand with her own smaller one in a reassuring gesture.

"It's been strange to adjust with one; now I'm gonna have two!" Inuyasha admitted. There was no ridicule or any from of hard feelings in his tone, just playful bits of sarcasm and friendly teasing. Kagome huffed playfully at the words.

"Looks to me like you're handling the _one_ just fine," she whispered happily, nodding towards the snoozing Michi all curled up in his blanket.

"_Handling_ is one thing. Letting the situation sink in is another altogether!"

Kagome chuckled lightly.

"Perhaps so," she agreed. "But you know, I think you're doing pretty well with that, too."

Inuyasha smiled, another rare occurrence outside his home.

"Thanks."

There was a brief silence as the couple stood there quietly, enjoying each other's presence. Inuyasha moved gently in front of Kagome, resting his hands softly on her lower back and his forehead on hers. The miko released a blissful sigh, reaching her hands around her husband's neck. They closed their eyes and just stood, relishing in the sweet silence.

That is, of course, until Kagome broke it with a curious whisper.

"So what did bring that little 'adventure story' on?" she asked.

"Michi's request," explained Inuyasha. "He really likes that one. Suiting, I guess. After all, it is about his own family." Kagome smiled.

"That's true," she murmured. "But why did you end it with meeting Miroku? Surely there's more?"

"Of course there is, but Michi was asleep, for one thing, and besides, that story's too long to do in one night."

Kagome's sweet smile widened slightly as she played slowly with a lock of Inuyasha's long, silver hair.

"_Well_," she said softly, "You know what I think? I think that you'll never get to the end of that story, because it still isn't over. We're living the rest of that little adventure story every day."

And with that, she kissed him gently on the cheek before turning and moving back to their bedroom.

Inuyasha followed, the echoes of his smiles still clinging to his lips.

.oOo.

Michi awoke with a jolt, panting hard from running from the most terrifying of youkai. Looking around, though, he realized that he was no longer running clumsily through dark, forbidding forests. He was in his bedroom, quite safe and sound.

But still, now the images were in his head. Suddenly in the toddler's mind, every shadow became a monster crouched; every creak, a demon's snicker.

The boy shivered, suddenly realizing how cold he felt. The year was now reaching late September, so though the nights were slowly cooling, his bedding had not quite been exchanged from summer's faded maroon blanket to the thick, warm comforter-like one used in winter months.

Coldness. Thoughts of demons. As far as a three-year-old was concerned, these were perfect reasons to seek out some company.

Michi tumbled nervously off of his futon, timidly tiptoeing out of his little room. Once past the doorway, he made a mad dash for his parents' room, hesitating at the threshold. He squinted in the darkness, trying to make out the shapes that lay comfortably there. He could see the silhouette of his mother, sleeping and still. That was his first instinct, but he stopped himself.

_Otou says no bothering Okaa right now, 'cuz she's gonna have a baby, _he reminded himself.

Looking just past her, he could see his father asleep in a deep doze. Well, if mom couldn't be disturbed, dad was the only option, right?

Michi trotted quietly to the far side of his parents' futon, staring at his father's sleeping face for a moment. Then, hesitantly at first, he reached out and tugged one of his father's soft, white dog ears.

"Otou!" he whispered, then louder, "Otou!"

"Mmnph. What?" grumbled the hanyou, cracking open his golden eyes slightly and turning over on his back and holding himself up on bent elbows.

"I…I had a nightmare…" Michi squeaked fearfully, proceeding to explain every frightening detail that remained in his mind. Seeing the very unamused expression on his father's face, however, he began to trail off before coming to a complete halt.

"…Go back to bed, Michi," Inuyasha grumbled, lying back down on his pillow in the wish that _he _could go back to sleep, himself.

"But Otou, it's cold in there!" Michi added desperately, clinging to the creamy white leave of his father's inner-shirt.

"Ok, fine! Take this, then!" snapped Inuyasha tiredly, chucking a mass of fabric at his son.

There was a very brief silence. Inuyasha closed his eyes, lying back down turned away from the boy.

Michi paused for a moment, taking the fabric off his head and trying to figure out what it was. That didn't take long.

It was his father's fire rat haori.

Michi smiled widely. He knew that the fabric was supposed to be really warm and protective, like…well, kind of like his dad. He clutched it happily.

Inuyasha's eyes snapped back open at the sound of rustling and the feel of a weight crawling over him, settling next to his stomach. He looked to see his son curled up against him, wrapped up in his haori, and looking as happy as can be.

His first response was very brief; a rush of annoyance—hadn't he told that kid to go back to bed? But just looking at the expression on the child's face—pure happiness which faded to simple peacefulness as the child drifted back off to sleep—he just couldn't hold on to those negative emotions.

The hanyou sighed, releasing said emotions with a long exhale. He set a gentle hand on his son's small back, rubbing it comfortably for a minute. As he lay back down, he wrapped that arm all the way around the child, pulling him into a loose embrace.

"This kid is gonna be the death of me yet," the hanyou murmured good-naturedly as he slowly closed his eyes to sleep once more.

As he fell asleep that night, Inuyasha began to think. He thought about his life and his family. He thought about that bedtime story he'd shared with Michi just hours ago, and about his wife's gentle comments.

But Kagome was wrong, he realized. They weren't living the "adventure story" anymore.

They were living the "happily every after".

**END**


	2. A True Story

Kagome couldn't help but suppress an adoring chuckle as she awoke to the sight she saw. Father and son, curled up quite comfortably together, and fast asleep.

Or so she though until Inuyasha opened his softened golden eyes. He smiled with gentle teasing at his wife, placing a finger from his spare hand over his mouth in a "shhh" gesture and blinking contently at the little boy. Kagome nodded in understanding, her toothy grin stretching from ear to ear as she gently caressed her son's sleeping face, rubbing his cheek gently with her thumb.

Moments like this, Kagome reflected, were some of her favorite and most treasured in her life. Who would've guessed that the unruly hanyou she'd met stuck to a tree could have been such a gentle father and husband, or that she, at the time just an the awkward ninth grader from the future, could've winded up his wife? Who would've guesses that the two of them would one day have a sweet little son with curious little puppy ears jutting above his otherwise human face, with another child on the way? Yet here they were, eight years after that first fateful day, in that very position indeed.

But of course, no child sleeps forever. Michi yawned widely, shifting and stretching briefly in his father's warm haori, blinking open his innocent indigo eyes to look up as his smiling parents.

"Otou? Okaa?" he mumbled softly in his notable three-year-old 'accent'. "…Why am I in _your_ room?"

"That's your own fault, kiddo," chided Inuyasha. "You came in last night after having that nightmare, remember?"

"…Oh, yeah," Michi agreed softly, recognition kindling in his expression. "Yeah, that was scary," he added, huddling a bit closer to his father. "But you know what, Otou? I didn't have _any_ bad dreams sleeping next to you. You must have chased them away!" The boy beamed at his father, satisfied with his own logic. Inuyasha could only smile, doing his best to suppress the light, rising blush in his cheeks, though no doubt very pleased by his son's admiration.

Kagome's grin never faded, taking in every instant. She let the moment sink in for a minute, then hoisted herself into a sitting position, resting a hand on her rounded tummy.

"Well," she said lightly, "I'm sure he did. But now it's time to get up," she urged.

"Ok," said Michi, crawling out of Inuyasha's haori and hopping to the floor. Inuyasha sat up as well, reclaiming the fabric and shaking it out before pulling it back on.

Michi excitedly trotted out of the room, much more confident now in the morning light.

"C'mon, Okaa! Let's have breakfast!" he exclaimed, bounding into the main room where the cooking fire pit rested.

"I'm coming, just a minute!" Kagome called to her son, then turned to her husband.

"Mmm-hmm," she murmured gently, leaning towards him, "I definitely think you'll be ok with two."

"A…are you sure?" asked the hanyou.

"Of course, you goofball. Deny it as you like, but you're a wonderful father, Inuyasha."

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to beam.

"Thanks."

The couple leaned in for just a brief kiss, but their lips had hardly touched when another call came from the other room.

"Hurry up, Okaa! I'm hungry!"

Kagome sighed good-naturedly.

"I'm coming, Michi!" She winked at her husband. "C'mon. Let's go feed the little guy." Inuyasha smirked.

"Alright."

.oOo.

The day passed rather uneventfully. Kagome had gone for a brief herb-picking session in the morning, trying to pluck out whatever was left before the colder weather _really _began to set in. She took little Michi with her, therefore leaving Inuyasha to some spare time at home.

Miroku stopped by around then, requesting that they hanyou joined him on an exorcism trip—it _had _been a few months since they'd done one together, after all, what with Kagome expecting and Miroku and Sango having to deal with their fourth and youngest little child, a son just over a year old now which they'd named Keitaro.

Of course, the twins hadn't that excited about the child being a boy—they were now just hoping that Kagome's new baby would be a girl—but four-year-old Moku was delighted to have a brother; he often tired of Misaki and Amaya's girly antics and was glad to have another boy to play with even when Michi wasn't visiting.

Inuyasha had stopped by the fields and told Kagome where he was going, and the miko simply nodded. She and Michi finished the mini-harvest and had a somewhat late lunch on their own, cooking up a quick and simple batch of rice.

Michi, still being a toddler, was put down for a nap afterwards, and having been out in the sun all morning and contentedly full from lunch, the child didn't put up much of an argument, leaving Kagome to reflect to herself as she sorted the herbs they'd gathered earlier.

She brought the basket to the front of the house, settling down just outside the door where the wood still lay. The way the house was built, said wood was about seven inches off the ground, raised almost like a modern porch and allowing her to sit rather comfortably, legs off the short drop and tucked slightly to the side.

Kagome didn't try to rush her sorting. No, it wasn't the most interesting job in the world, but over the past four years she'd lived in the Sengoku Jidai, she'd found it to be quite the common pastime. Besides, it gave her time to think while still doing something with her hands.

Just a few more herbs left. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two—

"Okaa?"

Kagome turned to see Michi slipping out of the slightly-opened sliding door, closing it behind him. The child's hair was ruffled and his indigo eyes squinted—he must have just woken up. He padded over to his mother.

"Hey, sweetheart," cooed Kagome, kissing the top of the child's head lightly as he sat down next to her, his short toddler legs hardly reaching the ground after the seven-inch drop. "Done with your nap?" The boy nodded.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked curiously.

"I'm sorting the herbs we picked this morning. See? And now I'm…done!" she explained sweetly, placing the last two herbs in their piles.

"Oh," said Michi. There was a brief silence. "Hey, Okaa?"

"Yes?"

"How did you meet Otou?"

Kagome blinked in surprise, but when she met Michi's eyes, they were earnest and curious.

"Why do you ask?"

The boy shrugged.

"Just wondering."

Kagome sighed, placing her arms behind her and leaning back.

"It really is a long story," she said with a light smile resting on her lips. "In fact," she added, suddenly recalling Michi's favorite bedtime story, "You're already familiar with it."

"I am?" asked Michi. "I don't remember."

Kagome smirked.

"Oh? Well, then I'll tell it to you. Once upon a time there was a hanyou. He once knew a miko who protected a magical jewel. But then there was an evil monkey involved who wanted the jewel—"

"So he tricked the hanyou and the Jewel miko into hating each other, and the hanyou ended up pinned to a big tree," Michi finished. "But what dose _that _have to do with anything?"

"Well, do you know what happens next in the story, Michi?"

"Yeah, the Jewel miko dies and the hanyou gets stuck to the tree for fifty whole years! Then he meets a new miko who frees him. So…?"

Kagome giggled lightly at her son's curiosity and vaguely at his inability to take subtle clues. It may just be a characteristic of his youthfulness, but it was certainly a trait that reminded her of the child's father. That hanyou could seem so dense sometimes, it wasn't even funny.

Ok, maybe a little.

"Oh, sweetheart," sighed Kagome sweetly, smiling lovingly at her son. "Don't you know? That's a true story." Michi blinked in surprise.

"…What?"

"That bedtime story that Otou tells you. It's a true story. That's why it's so long—it's not even over yet!"

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm. Where dose Otou usually end it?"

"When the evil monkey was defeated. The monk and the demon slayer got married an' even had kids, but the hanyou and the miko were separated for three years. _Then _they finally found each other again and they got married, too. And that's it. Happily ever after."

"I see," mused Kagome. "Well, you wanna know what happened after that?"

"What?"

"After the hanyou and the miko got married, the miko, who had lived in a different world, had a lot to learn about this world, so she spent a lot of time learning, and the hanyou was always there to help. Not long after they got married, they moved into a nice house on the outskirts of the village, near the forest. And then, in late winter, they got the most wonderful surprise: they were going to have a baby!"

Michi gasped.

"Really? They have kids, too?"

Kagome just laughed out loud.

"You should know, sweetheart. The baby was born the following September. He was the cutest little baby boy with dark fuzzy hair and adorable puppy ears. They named him…Michi."

Michi's eyes went wide in sudden understanding. He stared at his mother for a moment before attempting to speak.

"Wait…so…the baby was _me_?" he gasped.

"Mmmhmm," answered Kagome.

"And so…you're the new miko from the story? And Otou's the hanyou?"

Kagome smiled.

"That's right."

"Well…what about the monk? And the demon slayer?"

"Miroku-sama and Sango-sama," explained Kagome. "And the kids they had at the end were Amaya, Misaki, and Moku."

"Whoa," gasped Michi, blinking in realization. "So you and Otou really went on that adventure? You really beat the evil monkey and the jewel?"

"The monkey's name was Naraku. And yes, we did."

"Wow!" exclaimed the toddler. "I have the coolest parents ever!" he decided, standing excitedly and embracing his mother.

Kagome beamed, overjoyed to hear such a statement from her little son. She returned the brief embrace as best she could.

"Well, _I _have the coolest _son_ ever," she cooed affectionately. Michi grinned toothily. After a moment, though, his eyes wandered down to his mother's extended stomach. He put a small hand on it, and to his luck, the baby kicked. Kagome covered the child's hand with her own, holding it there sweetly.

"I can't wait 'till the baby is born," Michi commented. "Then I can tell him or her all about the story!"

Kagome could only smile.

"Well, you know what, Michi? I'm sure the baby would _love_ to hear its big brother's bedtime stories."

Michi grinned happily.

"Yeah."

**END**

_(For real this time. XD)_

**Author's Note:**

Ok, so I said this was a oneshot. And it was at first—but then this little idea for a second chapter struck me and I just had to write it! :3 Sorry for any cheesiness. But it's good cheese, right? 8D

Also, thank you to the three of you who took a just minute of your time to review chapter one. It's greatly appreciated. ^^


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